Action Alert

Ask Obama to drop religion in presidential oath

November 9, 2012

ACT NOW, CONTACT PRESIDENT OBAMA

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to President Obama asking him to reject the way this country politicizes religion. The Constitution, which prescribes the oath in Art. 2, Sect. 1, does not contain the “so help me God” language or require use of a bible. As FFRF has always done before presidential inaugurations, we are asking President Obama to honor the Constitution on Jan. 21 by omitting that religious verbiage from the Oath of Office.

Secular Americans are the fastest growing religious identification demographic in this country. It’s time politicians stop pandering to the religious right and start courting us. Please choose one of the three courses of action listed below.

I write to respectfully ask you to re-examine using religion as a political tool in your second term. This election highlights the country’s rapidly shifting demographics. The electorate’s religious affiliation is changing more quickly than any other metric, including race. In 1990, 8% of Americans were nonreligious. When you were elected in 2008, 15% of Americans identified as nonreligious. Now that number is 20%.

Most strikingly, 1-in-3 Americans under 30 now identify as nonreligious. We, the 30-and-unders, elected you in 2008 and again in 2012. We are the future of this country. And we are tired of our leaders injecting religion into politics. Politicians use religion to pander to their base, but it excludes us.

You called Nov. 5 “the last day that I will ever campaign.” This is a gift. You are beholden to no future constituency. Reach out to secular Americans. In the past, that might have been politically costly. But this recent election shows that it will be politically costly not to reach out to secular America. Use this second term to build a legacy by rejecting the way this country politicizes religion.

You can start on Jan. 21. When you reaffirm your oath, do so in the language the Founders specified in the godless Constitution. Eliminate the religious verbiage and the bible. The “so help me God” tradition violates the Constitution in the act of promising to uphold it. The ritual alienates the demographic that politicians must now rely on.

Use this term to bring secular America into the political conversation, and to forge a legacy worthy of the Founders. Restore the presidential oath and begin divorcing American politics from religion.

Your first inaugural address recognized nonbelievers and expressed a hope “that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve, that … our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

The final tribal allegiance is not sex, or race, or sexual orientation. It is religion. Private citizens are free to maintain that allegiance, but it is time our government abandoned it. Please lead us into an era of politics free from religious rhetoric.

Start small. Start by restoring the oath. Our once silent minority will no longer remain silent as politicians trample the document we hold sacred—the Constitution. Honor the oath as you recite it on January 21 and lead us into the new era you promised 4 years ago.

With hope,

Copy and paste the following text if you are 30 or older.

I write to respectfully ask you to re-examine using religion as a political tool in your second term. This election highlights the country’s rapidly shifting demographics. The electorate’s religious affiliation is changing more quickly than any other metric, including race. In 1990, 8% of Americans were nonreligious. When you were elected in 2008, 15% of Americans identified as nonreligious. Now that number is 20%.

Most strikingly, 1-in-3 Americans under 30 now identify as nonreligious. The 30-and-unders are the future of this country. They and the rest of secular America are tired of our leaders injecting religion into politics. Politicians use religion to pander to their base, but it excludes us.

You called Nov. 5 “the last day that I will ever campaign.” This is a gift. You are beholden to no future constituency. Reach out to secular Americans. In the past, that might have been politically costly. But this recent election shows that it will be politically costly not to reach out to secular America. Use this second term to build a legacy by rejecting the way this country politicizes religion.

You can start on Jan. 21. When you reaffirm your oath, do so in the language the Founders specified in the godless Constitution. Eliminate the religious verbiage and the bible. The “so help me God” tradition violates the Constitution in the act of promising to uphold it. The ritual alienates the demographic that politicians must now rely on.

Use this term to bring secular America into the political conversation, and to forge a legacy worthy of the Founders. Restore the presidential oath and begin divorcing American politics from religion.

Your first inaugural address recognized nonbelievers and expressed a hope “that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve, that … our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

The final tribal allegiance is not sex, or race, or sexual orientation. It is religion. Private citizens are free to maintain that allegiance, but it is time our government abandoned it. Please lead us into an era of politics free from religious rhetoric.

Start small. Start by restoring the oath. Our once silent minority will no longer remain silent as politicians trample the document we hold sacred—the Constitution. Honor the oath as you recite it on January 21 and lead us into the new era you promised 4 years ago.

I write to respectfully ask you to re-examine using religion as a political tool in your second term. This election highlights the country’s rapidly shifting demographics. The electorate’s religious affiliation is changing more quickly than any other metric, including race. In 1990, 8% of Americans were nonreligious. When you were elected in 2008, 15% of Americans identified as nonreligious. Now that number is 20%. Most strikingly, 1-in-3 Americans under 30 now identify as nonreligious. We are tired of our leaders injecting religion into politics. Politicians use religion to pander to their base, but it excludes us.

Please use your second term to build a legacy by rejecting the way this country politicizes religion. You can start on Jan. 21. When you reaffirm your oath, do so in the language of the Founders. Eliminate the religious verbiage. The hand on bible, “so help me God” tradition violates the Constitution in the act of promising to uphold it. The ritual alienates the demographic that politicians must now rely on. Restore the presidential oath and begin divorcing American politics from religion.